Karachi Port Trust has contracted Uzmar to build four terminal and escort tugboats for deliveries in Q4 2020 and in 2021
Larger container ships are berthing at two privately-owned container terminals and more tankers are using three terminals in the port, requiring more powerful tugs.
These azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugs will be built to Robert Allan RAstar 3200W design with 75 tonnes of bollard pull and Bureau Veritas class for escorting ships, with fire-fighting to FiFi1 requirements. They will have an overall length of 32 m and a maximum speeds of 13 knots with sponsoned RAstar hullforms for stability at high escort speeds.
Uzmar expects the first two tugs, which are nearing completion, to be delivered from October to December this year, while the other two should be completed in Q2 2021.
They are “specially designed to meet the highest seakeeping capabilities and maximum stability for escort manoeuvres at speeds up to 10 knots” said Uzmar.
With two Caterpillar 3516C main diesel engines, they comply with IMO Tier II emissions requirements and each develop 2,350 kW of power to drive two Kongsberg US 255 azimuth propulsors, while there will also be a Caterpillar C 7.1 generator set to power deck equipment and auxiliary systems.
Classifications will allow in-water surveys with unrestricted navigation and unmanned enginerooms in Global Maritime Distress and Safety System navigation area A3.
Uzmar chairman of the board Noyan Altuğ signed the contract with Karachi Port Trust chairman Jamil Akhtar on 18 August.
“We are not selling only vessels, but more importantly, we are selling our knowhow, our detail engineering and our expertise in building vessels beyond standards,” said Mr Altuğ. “We are excited to be able to sign this contract during these challenging times of global pandemic.”
Port of Karachi is a main maritime gateway to Pakistan and handles around 650,000 TEU of containers and 26M tonnes of cargo per annum.
This port has 30 dry cargo and 3 liquid cargo handling berths, including Karachi International Container Terminal and Pakistan International Container Terminal.
There are around 1,600 ship berths per year, including tankers, container ships, bulk carriers and general cargo ships.
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